The New Challengers
by EmeraldVisionary
Summary: Master Hand decides to indulge the Smashers in a new sort of challenge: New fighters will arrive for exhibition matches in an attempt to mix things up a bit. The catch? Each competitor has no idea who they are facing until the match is about to begin... Guest starring all sorts of different characters. Want to see a specific matchup? Feel free to leave a request!
1. Prologue & Guidelines

**Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U: The New Challengers**

Master Hand was frustrated, to say the least.

The Smashers were performing beautifully in their matches this season, so that wasn't it. Crazy Hand was actually being reasonable to deal with for once, so it couldn't be that either. Just what was it that was bothering him? He thought long and hard and pinpointed a possible explanation.

The Smashers were doing fine, yes, but nearly all of them had a common complaint. Ever since Master Hand informed everyone that Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta were the last competitors to join until the beginning of the next season, most of them felt disappointed. Knowing that these three were to be the last to join for who knows how long left them in a state of longing.

At first, Master Hand couldn't even begin to guess why this was the case. Seriously, he already had 58 heads he had to keep track of, how would he keep his sanity if that number rose higher and higher? Was the idea of newcomers arriving consistently something they cherished?

He wasn't entirely sure, but he decided to assume that must have been the case. They enjoyed the idea of fighting against someone new. It was a thrill to fight against a completely new opponent and learn about their fighting styles mid-match. It felt second natured to them after the new arrivals over the past few months.

But Master Hand knew deep down he couldn't just keep adding fighters into the mix. Things would get way too out of hand if the number of competitors were to just very quickly double. What to do, what to do… it's not like he could just…

Wait… That's it! He could bring in new fighters for the veterans to compete against for the sole purpose of exhibition! It was genius! New fighters could get a taste of what Smash Brothers has to offer while the current fighters could be satisfied fighting against something fresh! How hadn't he come up with this idea before?

…Probably because the idea seemed dangerous, deep down. What if things go awry? How does one keep balance and control in events like these? Perhaps, he decided, maybe it was time to cut loose a little bit… Master Hand had felt very uptight recently, anyway. Why not give this idea a test run? If it doesn't work out, well then that's just it. It doesn't work out.

If it turned out to be a success though… Ho boy would that be swell. Besides, like he said to himself before, these were just exhibitions. After they were over, the new fighters would be asked to leave the premises… On the account that they lost. Maybe if they won, they could stay for a little while longer. Master Hand immediately got to work, and started planning matchups between veteran smashers and new challengers…

* * *

Ok, so here's how this is going to work. Every chapter will have one pre-established smash bros character face off against an opponent completely new to Smash Bros. And here's the best part: I'll be taking requests for matchups! The first few fights will be ideas that I came up with myself, but soon enough I will start writing matchups requested by you the readers.

Since I will be taking requests for fights though, I'm going to have to lay down some ground rules:

 **The matchup has to include who's fighting who. You have to tell me which smash bros character will be fighting the new challenger. Also, if you can, tell me what stage they will be fighting on as well.**

 **Matchups for now will be 1 on 1. Maybe if this hits off, I'll do 2 on 2, 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 later, but let's keep it simple for now. Don't want to overexert myself, y'know?**

 **No OCs allowed. Sorry, but I would much rather write about characters from established franchises.**

 **While technically any character is allowed, I'm much more likely to write about them if they come from a video game. Video Game characters will be given first priority.**

 **Similarly, while you can leave requests in the review box, requests sent to me through Private Messaging are much more likely to be given earlier priority.**

 **I do have the right to refuse a request: If it's for a character I'm not familiar with at all, a matchup that doesn't sound interesting, or if it's just something I don't feel like writing, etc. That said, I will try to listen to you guys as much as possible. If the request is for a character I'm not familiar with, I will try to do some research so that they come across as genuine if I were to write about them.**

Ok, so that just about covers it. Feel free to start sending in your requests! For now though, why don't we take a look at what will happen next time, on our first match…

* * *

"Let's a Go!"

Mario jumped out of the warp pipe and entered a fighter's stance. Master Hand had told him of these new challengers that were going to be arriving to mix things up, but he wasn't worried. How tough could these new guys be, anyway? It's not like he was going to have to fight against someone he knew pretty well, anyway-

That's when he did a double take. He looked across the stage of Battlefield and saw who was standing on the other side. No way. Was that…

"Banjo?"

"Heya Mario! Good to see you! How have things been going?" Banjo politely asked him.

"Wait… you're the new challenger?" Mario asked. Even though he hadn't seen him in years, he remembered just how nice of a guy Banjo was. He wasn't sure if he wanted to fight him…

"Hey! Don't forget about me! I'm in this too!" A voice called out from inside Banjo's backpack. Kazooie poked her head out and glared into Mario's eyes. If there was one thing Mario did recall about the duo, it was the interesting dynamic the two had despite their clashing personalities.

"Well, actually Mario, I hate to say this… but I'm not actually you're first opponent. My matchup won't be for a little while." Banjo calmly told him. At this point, Mario was very confused.

"So, if I'm not fighting you, then why are-a you here? And who AM I facing, anyway?"

"Oh, we're just here to give him a lift. Yeah, the guy you're fighting is actually an old colleague of mine, and Master Hand asked me to help give him a lift here." That's when Banjo pulled out a device with a red button on it and pressed it.

Suddenly, I giant blue portal formed above the left most platform of Battlefield. Mario was getting anxious. Just who could this guy be? And why did he need Banjo to give him a lift?

"Good luck Mario! This guy might give you some trouble if you're not careful! A moving platform had just arrived to ferry Banjo and Kazooie out of the arena. They stepped on it as it started moving away.

"Yeah… the plumber's gonna get creamed." Kazooie blankly stated.

"Kazooie! Let's give him the benefit of the doubt!" Banjo retorted.

Back on Battlefield, Mario was able to see that the portal was finally beginning to form completely. Who was it going to be? That's when he got his answer.

"Ohhhh YEAH!"

His opponent was huge. He was holding onto a chain of some kind, and let go as the chain retracted back into the portal. He was primarily green, and was wearing a belt and knee bracelets with spikes on them. In one hand, he was holding a pair of sunglasses.

That's when Mario finally recognized him. Standing in front of him was…

His opponent started putting on the sunglasses and let out a huge grin. "I'm CRASHING this party!"

Mario gulped. It was Rash, of the Battletoads.


	2. Fight Number 1: Mario Vs Rash

"Alright combatants! The rules of this match are two stock! The timer is set to six minutes! Last man standing wins!"

Mario was relieved to hear that the rules were going to be what he was used to. At least ONE thing here wasn't completely different. His opponent, on the other hand…

He looked over to the other side of Battlefield to get a good look at Rash. For one thing, he was much taller than Mario, and the muscles and biceps on him were rather intimidating. Another thing he noticed was his tendency to… flex. It was almost as if he wasn't even paying attention to the rules being announced.

'Ok, even if he's not paying attention, that doesn't mean-a I should easily underestimate him…' Mario concluded.

"READY? GO!"

The bell had rung, and the match had begun.

'Let's-a try to slow him down with a fireball first.' Mario jumped slightly into the air and chucked some fireballs at Rash. Once Rash had stopped flexing, he took a few steps forward.

Rash jumped into the air and very quickly shifted his body into that of a giant wrecking ball. At the same time, a giant crane formed out of thin air, which the now ball shaped Rash used to swing himself directly at Mario.

"WAHOOO!" Rash barreled through the fireballs without even slowing down and rammed directly into Mario. Mario, meanwhile had next to no time to react to this sudden attack, and was completely vulnerable. Not even a second later, he let go of the crane and morphed back into his toad form and picked up the now incapacitated Mario. He carried him overhead towards the center of the stage, Mario completely immobilized. Rash threw him down onto the ground, leaving a sizable impact and causing Mario to bounce back into the air again.

"Oh, but I ain't done yet!" Rash then used his stretchy tongue to latch onto the now airborne Mario and pulled him closer to his opponent. Now with both of them in the air, Rash used his arms to send Mario crashing down back into the ground, quickly building up his percentage. Rash then let out a few punches before stepping back and forming ram horns, and charged directly at Mario. The impact sent Mario flying off of the stage into the blast zone.

'NO!' Mario was able to regain his senses quickly enough to recover back to the edge of the stage. Clinging on, he took a second to recollect what just happened.

'I'm already up to 90%... and I haven't even landed a single hit on him yet. This guy's crazy!' Mario jumped back onto the stage and reentered a fighter's stance. That's when Rash let out a loud whistle.

Within the span of two or so seconds, a speed-bike had materialized, Rash hoped on, and started barreling towards Mario once again.

"Coming through!" Mario was expecting Rash to start heading towards him again, but he wasn't predicting it to be on a vehicle. Regardless, Mario was able to pull out his super cape quickly enough to send Rash hurdling in the other direction. Before the Battletoad even realized what had just happened, he was already flying off of the right side of the stage. He jumped off in an attempt to save himself and recover, but the bike had been going too fast. He tried to reach for the edge with his tongue, but it was too late. Despite taking heavy damage early on, Mario had taken the first stock.

Rash was annoyed, but mostly at himself. 'Note to self… don't use the bike like that again. It's too unpredictable in an environment like this.' He soon appeared on the respawn platform.

"Veeeery funny, plumber. You managed to take me out first… but I'm just getting started!" Rash jumped off and slammed his fists down onto Mario's head, burrowing him into the ground. Mario still had visibility, but he couldn't move his body at all. As he tried to break free, he could see Rash charging up what looked like a Smash Attack…

"Cause now, you're getting the BOOT!" Rash morphed his foot into a large spiked boot and punted Mario directly in the face. The force of the impact was too much, and Mario was sent flying into the blast zone.

Mario sighed. 'Well, so much for turning things around. Man, that's gonna leave a mark though… I swear, that boot had to have been more painful than Bowser's dropkick…' The game was back to being a tie, Mario and Rash both now on their second and last stock of the match. The timer still read four and a half minutes. Between both Rash's sheer power and the screw up he made earlier, this match was going by rather quickly.

Mario jumped back down and used his temporary invulnerability to his advantage. He kicked Rash in the face, opening him up to a flurry of quick punches and kicks. Low kicks, high punches, if he just kept this up, he could keep him locked in place for awhil-

That's when Rash very quickly let out his spiked boot once again, forcing Mario back a few feet away from him with a nasty bruise on his face. Mario was stunned. How did he break that combo so quickly?

"Ha! The guys over at KI really know their stuff!" Rash proclaimed. Mario wasn't sure what that was supposed to be a reference to, but he shrugged it off. 'Focus! Combos like that can be broken out of… so what CAN I do against him?'

Rash decided to go back on the offense and started running back at his opponent. His leg had turned into a mighty battle axe, but Mario was able to just barely get out of the way of the attack. 'I suppose the best I can do is just look for an opening…' Mario let out a few more fireballs, honestly expecting Rash to barrel through them again like he did before.

Rash had a different idea this time, however. He let out his tongue and grabbed the fireballs and swiftly inhaled them. It looked like he used Mario's projectiles as a way to rejuvenate his energy!

Catching Mario off guard, Rash jumped forward and let out a flurry of boot kicks. Mario put up his shield, but the attacks kept on hitting. Pressure was building up, and if the flurry didn't stop soon, Mario's shield would burst.

Luckily for him, the flurry ended just before Mario's shield was able to burst. Mario grabbed Rash and swung him around in circles, eventually flinging him behind him. Mario jumped after his now airborne opponent and used his signature Mario tornado, stunning Rash long enough to land some extra hits.

'This might be it! If I can dunk him now…' Mario tried to go for his signature forward aerial attack, but Rash had reformed his body back into the wrecking ball. HIS main objective right now was simply trying to get back to the stage. Rash rammed directly into Mario, knocking him back to the ground.

Mario knew what Rash had in mind for what to do next, and quickly got back onto his feet. Rash charged at him, ram horns assembled, but Mario side stepped out of the way. Now with Rash behind him, he used his downward smash attack, and swung his feet in a full circle around him. Rash was once again sent off the stage, and Mario once again saw an opening.

'Ok, NOW I can dunk him… hopefully?' Mario jumped backwards, still facing the stage, and tried to go for another forward aerial. Rash expected this, and used his tongue to latch onto Mario again and pull himself towards him. This caused Mario's movements to mess up, and he couldn't swing his arm downwards properly. Rash raised his arms in an attempt to dunk Mario himself…

But Mario was half expecting his dunk to not work. Knowing that this might happen, he pulled out his Super Cape once more and flipped Rash around. Rash swung downwards, and was caught off guard by the feeling of swinging at thin air.

'Ok, again, NOW it's time for the dunk. Mario swung at Rash's back, this time FINALLY making contact. With their being enough damage built up, Rash was sent tumbling downwards into the blast zone.

"GAME!"

* * *

"The Winner is… MARIO!"

Mario was actually pretty proud of himself. Rash was one of the tougher opponents he had ever had the luxury of fighting, and he managed to win! He looked over to his left, and he saw Rash. He wasn't smiling anymore, but he was still applauding his opponent. Mario could tell he was a bit disgruntled at losing, but he was trying to be a good sport about it.

The two were teleported back to the lobby. Mario was about to head back to his premises, but Rash stopped him.

"Hey Mario, nice job out there. I can see why they still call you 'Mr. Video Game Himself'."

"Well, thanks. You were pretty tough, actually!" Mario complimented him. Rash smiled a bit at this.

"Yeah, coming from one of the hardest games ever made does have its perks, I'll admit. But man… these cameos are killing me."

"What do you mean?" Mario was curious what he meant by that.

"Well, it's just that it's been so long since I last appeared in a game where I wasn't just a guest star, y'know? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be here at Smash, even if it's just for a little bit, but MAN I would kill for a chance to star in my own game again. I saw you were talking to Banjo & Kazooie earlier, and I assure you they feel the exact same way."

"I wish I could help you out in some way or another, but I don't really have any solutions to your predicament…" Mario wanted to help, but this seemed like something that was out of his control.

"Nah, it's cool. It's just something we Rare guys are gonna have to figure out ourselves." Rash concluded.

"Well, it was nice to catch up with you again, Rash." Mario extended out his hand.

"Likewise, man." Rash accepted the handshake, and the two parted ways.

Mario continued to scratch his face as he walked back to his room. "That boot mark still hurts, though… how does he even morph his body like that, anyway?"

* * *

 **A/N:** **And fight #1 is complete! I had to have watched an hour's worth of footage of Rash in Killer Instinct just to get an idea of how he would translate to Smash Bros. And yes, that KI reference was indeed intentional. I figure Rash probably would have picked up a few techniques during his time there.**

 **Part of the reason I wanted to start this story anyway was admittedly for writing practice. For those of you that read my other story starring Robin & Shulk, there were a few fight sequences in it, but they were very non-descriptive and VERY brief. I'm hoping to use this as a better way to write out sequences like these. Hopefully the quality will rise as time goes on.**

 **Anyway, that's it for this fight! Be sure to send in matchup requests if you have any! (So long as they follow the guidelines presented in the prologue.)**

 **Oh, and for like, all twelve of you curious about that 'bonus' chapter I'm working on for my Robin & Shulk story… don't worry, I'm still working on that. Just… suffering from a serious case of writer's block on how to approach it. Give it time, and I'll get it done.**

 **That's about it. Until next time, toodles.**

* * *

 **NEXT TIME ON THE NEW CHALLENGERS:**

Shulk used his time on the respawn platform as an opportunity to analyze his opponent. As he realized at the start of the match, she was VERY fast, but in what way? What was she doing that was causing her to… blink, in and out of existence like that? He took a closer look at the device on her chest. Thanks to his time spent in the lab, he recognized the kind of machinery that was on her attire.

'That's it! She's using that device to control her own flow of time! That's how she's moving so quickly around the stage!'


End file.
